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cowcatcher

noun

Etymology

From cow + catcher.

  1. derived from captō
  2. derived from captio
  3. derived from cachier
  4. inherited from cacchen
  5. formed as catcher — “catch + -er”
  6. compounded as cowcatcher — “cow + catcher”

Definitions

  1. A plough-shaped device affixed to the front of a locomotive (or other large vehicle),…

    A plough-shaped device affixed to the front of a locomotive (or other large vehicle), usually wedge or V-shaped so as to push or deflect objects on the tracks out of the way, to clear out the train's path and prevent the risk of derailment or major damage to it.

    • The locomotive was black, an ungainly contraption led by the triangular snout of the cowcatcher, though there would be few animals where this engine was headed.
    • It was a rural railway that served the fertile Fens of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. But because it flanked public roads and was unfenced (to save costs), it was deemed a tramway and its locomotives had to be fitted with a cowcatcher.

  2. An advertisement at the start of a program.

    • Hitchhiker and cowcatcher plugs will be considered.
    • National advertisers have probably been major contributors to this practice through the use of so-called hitchhike and cowcatcher announcements.
    • Sometime in the mid-40s, the Hummerts canceled Mr. Keen and Easy Aces from their early evening periods on CBS, which also killed my cowcatchers and hitchhikes.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for cowcatcher. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA